Zero Waste

Zero Waste Team Delaware, Max Huhn, Elizabeth Nestle, Eric Long, Aaron Knestaut (l-r)
On Jan. 20, 2014, the Martin Luther King Day of Service, we were visited by four middle school students who are actively trying to make a difference in our area as the Zero Waste Team Delaware: Max Huhn, Cab Calloway School of the Arts; Aaron Knestaut, Conrad School of the Sciences; Eric Long, Cab Calloway School of the Arts; and Elizabeth Nestle, home schooled.

The interview originally aired on Feb. 6, 2014.

At the time of this interview, the team was already in their fifth pilot program, working with homeowners and waste hauling companies to learn about the benefits of separating refuse into three piles: traditional recyclable material, organic material (for composting), and trash that cannot be recycled or composted. The purpose is to reduce the amount of material going into landfills, and to start treating more of what we throw away as a valuable resource. In fact, the team has found that the families participating in the program have reduced the amount of trash being sent to the DSWA landfills by over 55%.

The team has been working with the Wilmington Organic Recycling Center because the Center has a large enough operation that they can process material like meat, bone, and food-soiled cardboard that you cannot process in a backyard compost pile.

It’s a fun interview in which the students educate me about what we can all do to reduce what we put in the landfills.